Last season, the Green Bay Packers were able to win their final six games after a 4-6 start, mostly behind the incredible play of Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense. Though their magical playoff run was cut short in the NFC Championship by the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay has set themselves up to be even better in 2017, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Green Bay Packers Offense Will Be Even Better in 2017
Dual Tight End Sets Will Give Rodgers More Opportunities
Last season Green Bay’s offense really came alive in Week 11 against the Washington Redskins. It was no coincidence that Jared Cook returned to action that week, as his presence gave Rodgers a big, speedy, middle-of-the-field target that the Packers signal caller had been lacking for quite some time. Even with the loss of Cook to free agency, Green Bay has set itself up great by signing both Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks. Both tight ends are a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the field and in the red zone.
Bennett, who set a career-high with seven receiving touchdowns last season, will draw plenty of attention inside the 20-yard line, as will Kendricks. This will create opportunities for slot receivers, such as Randall Cobb, to come over the middle and outside receivers, such as Jordy Nelson, to get more one-on-one matchups.
Throughout his career, Aaron Rodgers has never had the dual-tight end threat that he’ll have in 2017, and you can bet that he’s going to put up monster numbers with the help of his two new weapons. The dual-tight end set is what has allowed Tom Brady to have so much success over the years, first with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and last season with Gronkowski and Bennett. The threat of two receiving tight ends provides an offense the ability to open up and the sky is now the limit for Rodgers and the passing game.
There’s A Lot Of Options at Running Back
Though Green Bay isn’t set on who will play running back in 2017, they have plenty of options that range from the versatile Ty Montgomery to an unknown draft pick to possibly a Hall of Fame-caliber back in Adrian Peterson. There’s no telling what Green Bay will do at the position, but they have more than enough quality options to fill the vacancy unlike in year’s past. Green Bay could potentially use their first-round draft pick on Christian McCaffrey, who set rushing records at Stanford and holds the all-time NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a single season at 3,864, set in 2015.
Ty Montgomery had a few breakout games towards the end of last season as he took over as primary running back for Green Bay, but he never really felt like a true running back. Even so, his style of play fits well with an up-tempo Packer offense that throws far more than it runs. Montgomery could be a quality option for screens and draws out of the pistol and he’s good for the occasional breakout run. Simply put, he’d be enough to keep teams on their feet, which is all you need with Aaron Rodgers under center. Though Adrian Peterson has expressed interest in other destinations, he’s still on the table for Green Bay and a Rodgers-Peterson combo would be incredibly scary for the rest of the league.
Davante Adams Will Become A Top Ten Receiver in the League
Davante Adams had a breakout year last season after struggling with drops all throughout 2015. He finished just three yards short of the 1,000-yard mark and had 12 receiving touchdowns last year as well. Adams became one of Rodgers’s go-to targets last season and he set a career-high in every receiving statistical category. In 2017 he can expect to receive even more targets from Rodgers. Both Adams and Nelson will become one of the, if not the best wide receiver duo in the league. Geronimo Allison also quietly made a name for himself in Green Bay and could be a quality number four receiver in the Packers offense if given the opportunity this upcoming season.
With the Adams-Nelson combo, Cobb in the slot, the dual-tight end threat of Bennett and Kendricks and three talented young wide receivers in Trevor Davis, Geronimo Allsion and Jeff Janis fighting for a spot, this could be the best receiving corps Aaron Rodgers has had since the season they won the Super Bowl, if not even better than that.
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